GUIvIvS AND TERNS OF NEW ENGLAND. 



Gulls and Terns of New England. IV. 



BY W. R. VARICK, M. D. 



Old gulls are wise birds and keep at long range, unless 

 sure of their reception. Young ones may often be lured to 

 their destruction by a man b^ing behind a sand dune and 

 waving a pair of gull's wings. The unsophisticated young- 

 sters are curious, and come to see what is happening. They 

 often remain. But their parents never are to be caught in 

 any such unseemly manner. The last part played by 

 gulls is that of sentinel. The flocks of ducks that feed 

 along the coast, and in the harbors, have no fear of harm 

 as long as gulls are flying overhead ; they see man from 

 afar, and never fail to give good warning of his approach. 



There are several striking differences noticeable in the 

 habits of gulls and terns. The tern habitually carries his 

 bill pointed directly downward in flight, a very unusual at- 

 titude in birds. The gull carries his forward in the plane 

 of his body, so the tern can alw^ays be spotted at sight, if 

 this point is remembered. Terns are expert divers, bold- 

 ly darting beneath the surface after the fish, but they do 

 not remain long on the water, for, whether successful or 

 not, they immediatel}^ take to the wing again, giving them- 

 selves a vigorous shake after flying a few yards. They 

 rest on sand spits, spiles, rocks, or floating articles, such 

 as buoys. Swimming and floating are not in their line. 

 Gulls, on the other hand, very rarely dive for food, but pick 

 it from the surface, though they swim splendidly, and are 

 perfectly at home on the top of the water, as their maritime 

 habits would necessitate. Terns are birds of the shore, 

 and do not habitually venture maliy miles to seaj except in 

 migration. 



Again, in flight one notices a difference between the two 

 sub-families. Gulls, the larger species at anj^ rate, are 

 capable of soaring like hawks, and often may be seen mount- 



